Agri damage due to typhoon ‘Nina’ reaches PHP4-B

The Philippine agriculture sector has initially incurred PHP4 billion (USD80 million) worth of damage due to typhoon Nock-ten, locally named Nina, which battered northern part of the country, the Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.

According to the department, reports from its regional offices showed that 65,247 hectares of agricultural areas with an estimated volume of production loss of 268,355 metric tons were affected in Regions IV-A (Calabarzon) and V (Bicol).

The commodities, which were mostly affected, were rice, corn and other high value crops, and fisheries.

The department said its personnel on the ground are continuously undergoing field validation as to the extent of damage in agriculture and fisheries.

In another statement on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said that President Rodrigo Duterte has approved an initial allocation of PHP500 million (USD10.06 million) to rehabilitate the agriculture and fisheries in the areas affected.

Nock-ten, which battered the Luzon island on Christmas Day and caused at least six dead and 19 others missing, left the Philippines before midnight on Tuesday.

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